Chapter 49: If you have nothing to do, read more books
Shi Xia took a deep breath and quieted her mind to think. Chi Hou once said that no matter how powerful a spiritual beast is, they all have their weaknesses. The five elements are mutually exclusive, no exceptions. Obviously this Tunshui Beast's weakness is lightning.
It was not difficult for her pure Yang Qi to conjure up thunder and lightning. Yi Yaofan was even a single thunder Spiritual Root. In addition, this seventh-ranked Tunshui Beast had already been injured by her once. If they could fight together, there would still be a chance to beat it. But this spiritual beast could also be invisible. If they couldn't see the target, the powerful spells would be in vain.
How can we force this Tunshui Beast to come out?
Wait!
The Tunshui Beast …… water*?
[T/N: ‘Tun' means ‘water' and ‘Shui' means ‘Beast'. ‘Tunshui Beast' means ‘water devouring beast'.]
Shi Xia's eyes lit up. Converting her Qi into ice, she called out the Shooting Star Formation. Thousands of icicles instantly appeared in the air.
"You're crazy!" Wang Xi suddenly exclaimed, "The Tunshui Beast is a water-based spiritual beast, what's the use of calling out icicles?"
Shi Xia ignored him and turned her head at Yi Yaofan, "Yi Yaofan, once my spell falls, you will use your thunder spell with the largest attack range towards the ground, got it?"
Yi Yaofan still did not respond, but Wang Xi continued, "The ground can absorb lightning, what good is there to attack towards the ground? If you don't understand the situation….."
"Shut up!" Shi Xia fiercely glared at him, "don't show your stupidity by speaking. If you don't speak, no one will think you dumb."
"You ……"
Shi Xia once again ignored his ghostly roar, and turned to her floating icicles. A large area of icicles turned into water, and clattered like rain towards the ground. She quickly turned her head towards Yi Yaofan and shouted, "Quick!"
Yi Yaofan was stunned at first. With a heart full of doubts, he complied with her words, and put his palm to the ground. The thunder and lightning passed along the water on the ground and spread out like a spider web.
In less than a moment, the ground became full of lightning.
A miserable scream suddenly rang out. The Tunshui Beast appeared on the ground ten meters away from them with its body full of burning flesh.
"How is this …… possible?" Wang Xi was shocked.
"Water can conduct electricity." Shi Xia gave him a pathetic look, "If you have nothing to do, read more books!"
Wang Xi's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Shi Xia did not have time to care about him. When the water on the ground would disappear, seeping into the ground, the Tunshui Beast would hide again. And the lightning of Yi Yaofan would not last long either.
She turned her head to others and said, "Who knows the Five Elements Spirit Ring Formation?"
"I know." Mu Ting said.
"I know too." The remaining two also stepped forward.
"One of you will surround the Tunshui Beast and activate the Spirit Ring Formation at the same time as me in that direction." She continued her speech while turning to Yi Yaofan, who was still putting on thunder on the ground, "Yi Yaofan, you will be the eye of the formation."
The four were stunned for a moment and immediately understood what she meant. They quickly stood in the four directions of the Tunshui Beast. The four of them started the formation together. Four transparent walls of Qi instantly appeared around the Tunshui Beast, trapping it in.
"Yi Yaofan!"
Shi Xia shouted, and Yi Yaofan immediately put away the thunder on the ground, mobilized his Qi into a wall of Qi before using the thunder technique again.
The wall made of Qi surrounding the Tunshui Beast began to splinter and light up with thunder and lightning, as the cycle moved forward towards the spiritual beast.
The Spirit Ring Formation was originally a very weak formation, using the spiritual energy to create a few walls of Qi and trapping things inside. But the walls aren't very strong. The only good side of it is that the wall of Qi can run in a cycle, so whatever thing or whoever is inside can't use the spiritual energy.
That's why Shi Xia wanted Yi Yaofan to be the eye of the formation. He is a single thunder Spiritual Root, as long as the ring of spiritual formation moved towards the eye of the formation, all the spiritual energy would convert into thunder spiritual energy. Not only that, the spiritual energy would circle around the Tunshui Beast with a constant thunder spiritual energy and never stop. Therefore, the Tunshui Beast which was afraid of thunder would never be able to escape.
Sure enough, the walls made of Qi all turned into thunder and lightning, seemingly weaving into four large nets of lightning, and slashing at the Tunshui Beast inside the walls from all sides without any dead angle. A rumbling sound of thunder echoed over the entire forest.
The Tunshui Beast's original unbreakable scales began to burn under the force of lightning. It frantically attacked the walls of the Spirit Ring Formation, but was forced back by the lightning, and could only hiss back while using water-based attacks. Rather than helping it, it instead accelerated the speed of the lightning attacks. Wounds began to appear in its body, less than a moment, its entire snake body was covered with blood, and its movements also gradually slowed down. It seemed to have run out of energy and laid down on the ground without being able to fight.
"Success ……" Everyone who formed the formation were so surprised that they couldn't believe their eyes for a moment. They actually trapped a seventh-rank spiritual beast.
"Don't let your guard down, it's not dead yet!" Shi Xia reminded in a loud voice.
Everyone froze for a moment. The next moment, the Tunshui Beast sprang up from the ground and slammed on one of the walls made of Qi with full force. It had used all its strength completely disregarding the churning of lightning. But why is it hitting the side she is controlling? Oh no! Is it because her face doesn't look good?
Shi Xia felt a sharp pain in her chest and a fishy smell rose to her throat. Rich, red blood spilled from her mouth.
"Surname Xia, you ……" Yi Yaofan opened his eyes wide, a trace of worry flashed across his face.
"Don't mind me, continue!" Shi Xia gritted her teeth, pressed down the huge pain coming from her dantian, and held on for dear life! It has come to this point, the Spirit Ring Formation must not stop, or everyone would be dead.
Yi Yaofan gritted his teeth and turned back to continue to focus on converting spiritual energy into thunder Qi and channel them to the formation. The lightning inside became even more violent, and the Tunshui Beast, covered in blood, was burned black with a terrible burnt smell. Its screams were getting weaker and weaker. Suddenly, it sprang up with a jerk and let out a roar that was completely different from the previous one.
The sound was very sharp, like a sharp knife scratching just in front of the ear. The scream shocked the people present which made them close their eyes in reflex. The body of the Tunshui Beast suddenly began to expand, no, it should be said that only the midsection of the body was expanding. The size of the snake began to get bigger and bigger, until a pair of black bat-like wings propped up from the cracks of the scales.
"Wings appeared, it …… it's turning into a Jiao!" Wang Xi, who had been standing on the side, opened his eyes wide with a look of horror. Jiao is a ninth-order spiritual beast, equivalent to the God Transformation Stage. In the entire Immortal Cultivation world, no one has ever seen a ninth-ranked Jiao. This Tunshui Beast actually had the blood of a Jiao.
The three people controlling the formation also had a look of fear on their faces. Therefore, the formation became a bit unstable.
Damn, this Wang Xi only knows how to spout nonsense rather than helping.
"Calm down!" Shi Xia said in a loud voice, "The seventh-ranked spiritual beast transforming into a Jiao is not that simple. It's already exhausted, we must not let it succeed in transforming into a Jiao."
Everyone regained their composure, Yi Yaofan mobilised the spiritual energy of his whole body and attacked the Tunshui Beast that was transforming into a Jiao. The lightning struck more violently than usual. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
It has always been difficult for spiritual beasts to ascend, let alone ascending from the seventh to the ninth stage of Jiao. The Tunshui Beast struggled less and less, but its shrill scream did not stop. Each scream was louder than the previous, penetrating the eardrums.
It screamed nine times in a row, and the last one was so loud that it seemed to cut through the sky and spread throughout the whole forest.
Shi Xia at first didn't care as it was screaming. But when the ninth sound fell, sounds of several spiritual beasts began to ring everywhere in the forest. As if they were responding to the scream of the Tunshui Beast.
"Not good, it's not transforming into Jiao, it's calling other spiritual beasts!" Shi Xia's heart sank.
"Nine call!" Yi Yaofan's face also went white at once, "He's calling for a beast tide!"
The next moment, one roar after another rang out the whole forest, accompanied by the rumbling sound of running. Clouds of dust rose in the sky, as if a large group of creatures were running wildly towards this side.
"Beast tide, it's a beast tide!" Wang Xi took several steps back, screamed and turned around to run away with his sword.
Seeing him run, the other cultivators who were performing the Spirit Ring Formation also revealed a look of panic.
"Don't be distracted!" Yi Yaofan shouted anxiously, "The Tunshui Beast is still in there!"
But these words obviously had little effect! A single Tunshui Beast had already put such a strain on them, then what about the beast tide with thousands of spiritual beasts?
"No …… I'm not going to die here!" A cultivator on the right side was so frightened that his whole body shook. He withdrew his hand from the formation, turned around and left with his sword, without even looking back.
With one cultivator missing, the formation was disrupted, and the eye of the formation Yi Yaofan got the backlash hard. He opened his mouth and spurted out a mouthful of blood, his face turning to purple.
Shi Xia immediately used her spiritual energy to make up for the missing side of the formation.
But once a flow starts, no one can stop them. After one cultivator left, the other male cultivators also didn't want to stay any longer. They withdrew their hands and followed the other male cultivator to escape. Only Shi Xia and Mu Ting, these two people were left. The sound of the beast tide was getting closer and closer. Mu Ting looked at the formation, then at Yi Yaofan before turning his head away with panic and guilt. He also withdrew his hand, called out his longsword and said to Shi Xia and Yi Yaofan, "you …… you two also hurry up and escape. The beast tide is getting closer! "
Saying this, he also flew away.
In the chaotic scene, only Shi Xia and Yi Yaofan were left. Shi Xia could only grit her teeth and bear the whole Spirit Ring Formation alone. Yi Yaofan was the eye of the formation, because of the sudden withdrawal of the three, he had been injured badly at the backlash. His whole body turned bloody and he looked at the brink of death.
Shi Xia also knew that turning away and escaping now was the wisest choice. They wouldn't be able to withstand the beast tide with their wounded body. Just the rush of the beast tide is enough to trample them to death. But if she left, then the team leader of Nanyi Gua (Hard to hang) would really hang up. He was closest to the water-devouring beast, the moment she would withdraw, he would certainly die. Therefore, she gritted her teeth and stayed rooted in her place. Let's count it as repaying a favour to Yuan Zhao.
Holding the Spirit Ring Formation alone, she converted a part of her spiritual energy into thunder spiritual energy. The entire formation began to glow white, and the Tunshui Beast finally stopped making sound.
Yi Yaofan's body swayed sideways and fell straight backwards.
Shi Xia took a step forward and stretched her hands to grab him.
"Hey, you're still alive, right?"
Yi Yaofan looked at her in disbelief, "how is it you ……" he never thought that the last person who would be left was her.
"The beast tide is coming!" Shi Xia smoothly helped him to stand on the ground and gripped the sword in her hand.
The next moment, a large group of various kinds of spiritual beasts appeared within sight. At a glance, only a large group of dense spiritual beasts could be seen running wildly towards this side.
"What do you want to do?" Yi Yaofan asked with a white face. Turning his face he said, "Xia something, do not show off. You alone cannot block this beast tide. Hurry up and escape!"
"It's too late." Shi Xia took a step forward, and waved her sword with full force. The sword in the hand turned into thousands of spiritual swords, and the spiritual swords formed a dragon. The roar of a dragon suddenly resounded through the clouds. The dragon made with swords rushed to the beast tide with a wind of blades. With great momentum, it pounced on the beast tide. The spiritual beast that came in contact with the sword were ripped to pieces in an instant.